F4W/Observer-Is it still worth paying for?

[ODonnell]

On Monday when Dave had to deal with his mother we had Bryan alone. He noted they were supposed to have Jeremy Botter on as a guest but since Dave wasn't around that couldn't happen. But why? Botter would only do the interview with Dave? Bryan wasn't prepared? It really makes no sense. Comes off like Bryan is just a glorified button pusher there to hit record because Dave doesn't know how technology works.

Because WOR is Dave's show, people pay to listen to Dave talk about wrestling and answer questions, hence why Bryan allows Dave to steamroll him all over. Bryan has said this multiple times. They are rescheduling Botter/Dave since as Botter said on WOL, he was involved in the beginning of this.

Bryan interviewed Botter for WOL the next day or two days after, and plugged it numerous times. Did a great job. He's got multiple shows there where he gives his opinions on things (WOL, B&V, Filthy Four Daily) so yeah, he's a button pusher for WOR and just did a quick solo show so people wouldn't be disappointed.

I understand you don't like Alvarez, we get it. There's several legit complaints you can make about him, there's no need to invent them.

[RobViper13]

Bryan ***allows*** Dave to steamroll him? That's a new one.

Bryan did a great job interviewing Botter? He didn't even know the price of the service. Shouldn't that have been something he familiarzed himself with beforehand? Especially with extra days of prep?

Bryan is a piece of shit. I've never not stated that. I don't need to invent things to paint him in a bad light, as you noted, I can just list off every idiotic thing he does.

[ayaashm]

Whoa. I have no idea why you hate Bryan. I don't like a number of things he does but he's a great host especially when going solo. He's not the best at interviews but he's serviceable.
From my interactions with him and what I've heard,he may be stuck in his ways in terms of what to cover and what to give importance but in no way would I call him a "piece of shit".

[powerfulmgp]

Bryan did a great job interviewing Botter? He didn't even know the price of the service. Shouldn't that have been something he familiarzed himself with beforehand? Especially with extra days of prep?

Yeah, if people aren't able (or aren't willing) to see through the smokescreen on that one, they never will. It is what it is.

[supersonic]

If there was a tag team flagship podcasts match, who gets your vote?

Wrestling Observer Radio + Bryan & Vinny Show vs. Voices of Wrestling + Shake Them Ropes

There will be a major Bryan burial coming soon for a number of reasons, from allowing himself to gradually become a petty, insecure piece of dog shit, to his often-lazy non-contributions on WOR, to his fumbling of the Martin/Coughlin fiasco, to most of all just his severe lack in his performance as an authority on the business.

[RobViper13]

Whoa. I have no idea why you hate Bryan. I don't like a number of things he does but he's a great host especially when going solo. He's not the best at interviews but he's serviceable.
From my interactions with him and what I've heard,he may be stuck in his ways in terms of what to cover and what to give importance but in no way would I call him a "piece of shit".

I've dealt with him personally and he's a piece of shit for trying to scam his way into shows for free (sometimes using Dave Meltzer's name) & refusing to provide customer service to paying customers because he can't differentiate between personal/professional relationships. He's the exact type of guy to meet you in person, be super nice to see what he can get out of you & then behind your back talk shit and deny it when confronted. People who used to be in the "empire" can confirm all that.

Also, I've never understood the "Bryan is a good host" defense. I will always point out he was smart for latching onto Dave before anyone else could but a good host? He's always unprepared. It's been how many years & he still misses commercial cues? The time of segments never changes. He got mad once when someone suggested as a call-in show host he should remember or write down the names of callers... something that is taught to people who want to go into this field. He never admits he's wrong & even when flat out proven he goes into "it's my gimmick" mode which is childish behavior. I think the people who call Bryan a "good host" have no idea what hosting means.

[supersonic]

Elaborate on the free admission part please, as it makes me question if he got me behind Amell last year in a legitimate fashion.

[ayaashm]

Whoa. I have no idea why you hate Bryan. I don't like a number of things he does but he's a great host especially when going solo. He's not the best at interviews but he's serviceable.
From my interactions with him and what I've heard,he may be stuck in his ways in terms of what to cover and what to give importance but in no way would I call him a "piece of shit".

I've dealt with him personally and he's a piece of shit for trying to scam his way into shows for free (sometimes using Dave Meltzer's name) & refusing to provide customer service to paying customers because he can't differentiate between personal/professional relationships. He's the exact type of guy to meet you in person, be super nice to see what he can get out of you & then behind your back talk shit and deny it when confronted. People who used to be in the "empire" can confirm all that.

Also, I've never understood the "Bryan is a good host" defense. I will always point out he was smart for latching onto Dave before anyone else could but a good host? He's always unprepared. It's been how many years & he still misses commercial cues? The time of segments never changes. He got mad once when someone suggested as a call-in show host he should remember or write down the names of callers... something that is taught to people who want to go into this field. He never admits he's wrong & even when flat out proven he goes into "it's my gimmick" mode which is childish behavior. I think the people who call Bryan a "good host" have no idea what hosting means.

While I cannot speak on your personal dealings with the man or use it to derive an impression of him as a person,I can speak on the good host part of your post.
This is not a defense of any sort. These are my thoughts on him. He's an adult,if he needs to defend himself I'm sure he's more than capable.
There are many podcasts out there and a lot of them are solo shows,hardly 5%of those solo shows are engaging or have any sense of coherency. That,is a flaw, which is not found in Bryan. I think some people don't recognize how difficult it is to do a good solo show where you can go from one point to another and not get held up in useless and un-entertaining rants and diatribes or needless long pauses. It is not easy to keep someone engaged in a solo show and hosts like Alan,Lanza and Bryan are extremely good at this aspect of podcasting.
While I'm not a fan of his " It's my gimmick" mode to shield himself from certain conversations (same with some people on twitter),to say that he's always unprepared would be an exaggeration and I say that as someone who listens to Observer Live almost daily.

[powerfulmgp]

Thread in question has been deleted, less than 24 hours after it was mysteriously moved to MPI. The thin-skinnedness never fails to amaze. Speaks volumes about certain individuals.

[supersonic]

I've made the Sandwich aware of the situation.

[ayaashm]

Wait why was the thread deleted?

[supersonic]

Post deleted. (Mod note: Man, I don't care what you do but don't put this type of stuff on our forums. If you want to do this on your own time, knock yourself out but please do not lump us into it or get us involved with this in anyway. Anymore of this and I will be forced to take action, sorry. -Rich)

[supersonic]

I am a little frustrated with F4W just because I offered a ton of ideas that were ignored regarding bringing new stuff to the site, new forms of content, etc. But that's how it always goes, right? Ideas are ignored so frustration is bred, even if my ideas actually sucked in their mind.

My comp subscription runs out in January, and I don't believe they'll renew it. I haven't listened to an F4W podcast since around after WrestleMania this year, and with the big newsletter news finding its way to reddit within the hour of a new issue, I may end up just not resubscribing until I need to.

I'm unsure. I respect Dave greatly, and Bryan & Vinny was my favorite podcast (I don't listen anymore not because I don't enjoy the show, I just don't have time). So not subscribing isn't necessarily a negative on F4W, just a sign that the value probably isn't as it was a few years ago.

Clearly it was the right call to reject/shun your ideas since F4W has done such a blowaway job of filling Martin and Coughlin's voids. For example:

[RobViper13]

I have personally told Dave the site has dropped in quality & the customer service is beyond atrocious. I mentioned he & Bryan constantly point out WWE ignores their own fan base on a regular basis which is hilarious since his business partner exhibits the same trait to a much worse degree. Also, I made it perfectly clear the website is not at all worth the money they charge per month & shows zero initiative when it comes to finding new audio or features compared to other free websites. He took it in and seemed to understand but I got the impression he just treats the website as any newspaper job he's had or call-in show like the LAW. He sends his newsletter in & he answers the calls from Bryan. Anything else he really is completely out of touch as to what goes on. So these complaints fall squarely on Bryan even if some would like to push this as a personal vendetta to skirt the actual issues. Paying customers have full right to be critical.

Don't even get me started on what happens if you have a technical issue with the website & have to deal with super genius Tony. That's a whole other type of adventure when it comes to customer service on the website.

[rovert]

Paying customers have full right to be critical.